In recent years, Langovits has devoted himself to organizing and digitizing his extensive photo archive. The material accumulated over decades has already resulted in several photo books.

"There's been so much material gathered over the years that I can barely manage it. I've thought that if one day I'm no longer among the living, no one but me will be able to chew through this cultural layer I've recorded," Langovits said on ERR broadcast. For that reason, he is digitizing primarily film photographs, of which he has thousands. "Honestly, I'd have enough work for 30 years."

While working through the archive, Langovits looks for photos that still speak decades after they were taken. In his view, the most valuable images are from the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s — capturing major changes in Estonian society. Some of this material has reached the Estonian Photography Museum, but much still awaits sorting.

"It's interesting even for myself — you discover a picture again and wonder why I never used it. It's a very good, generalizing image. But I guess I looked at things from a different angle back then," he said.

Langovits's most extensive photo book so far focuses on Väike‑Õismäe neighborhood in Tallinn, where he has lived for decades. The book begins with the first construction piles being driven into the ground and reaches all the way to last year.

Living in the neighborhood allowed him to observe its development calmly. At first he simply photographed what was happening around him, without any plan to make a book.

"All these things together create a pretty good picture of what has happened around us, how we've lived," Langovits noted. He added that he might have captured some situations differently had he known they would one day form a complete overview.

History emerges unexpectedly

Langovits admits that taking pictures is a habit he cannot give up. He calls it an occupational disease. " I call it a professional habit — I just have to press the button," he said. "There's practically not a day when I don't capture at least one frame."

Even on his way to the interview, he noticed reflections of light on the Hilton hotel and photographed the view of the radio building. "Tomorrow it won't be like this anymore. That's how life goes. But it gives me great pleasure."

Looking back, Langovits realizes that many of his photos have become important historical documents. He first sensed this while photographing the Baltic Way. Even more strongly he felt it when the Lenin statue was removed in Tallinn.

"I was one of the few photographers who arrived at the right moment. Then I felt I was in the middle of history," he said.

Working as a journalist often placed him at the center of events, and some of the social photographs taken on assignment also made their way into the Väike‑Õismäe book.

Stylistically, Langovits prefers black‑and‑white photography. "It seems much more emotional to me, and it has a different effect," he said, adding that he is equally drawn to fog.

"There the perspective is different. And there's the element of surprise — I don't know who or what will emerge from the fog or what will happen next. At the same time, it creates a slightly mystical atmosphere, which is close to my heart."

Street photography has become more difficult

According to Langovits, people's attitudes toward street photography have changed significantly over the years. While photographers were once met with indifference, people are now more cautious. Today he thinks more carefully before photographing someone.

"Legislation has changed, everything has changed, and I hesitate a lot about whether to photograph a person or not," he said.

Langovits believes society's attitude toward photos has also changed because digital images are easy to manipulate.

"Times change and perceptions change. Probably because photos have been so widely misused, the trustworthiness of photography has disappeared. Photographer Peeter Tooming already warned before his death in the 1990s, when digital photography and the first digital cameras arrived, that digital photography would seriously undermine trust in photos. He was absolutely right," he recalled.

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